INTRODUCTION OF BATTERY ENERGY STORAGE IN A SMALL ISLAND GRID TO INCREASE WIND ENERGY PENETRATION LEVELS K.Papastamoulos,

In small autonomous island systems, such as those in the Aegean Sea, Greece, the load is covered by diesel engines. Technical constraints of the conventional generating units keep RES penetration in these islands at low levels. To overcome such limitations, in the case of small island systems (peak power less than 1 MW) battery energy storage appears today as an attractive solution from a technical, economic and operational point of view. In the paper, the operation of a hybrid power station that consists of a Wind Turbine and Lead Acid batteries is simulated on an annual basis, using a steady-state “logistic” model, which accounts for the energy transactions between its various components, ignoring all electrical transients. Battery operation is modeled by the Hybrid2 model, which describes the operation of lead-acid accumulators during charge and discharge cycles, estimating also their expected lifetime. Moreover, the ideal size of the hybrid station is investigated considering the RES penetration and the economic feasibility of such a project. The results of the simulations indicate that a wind penetration levels up to 80% may be feasible.